Julie was a master of wind elemental magic.
She had honed her skills to such perfection that she could seamlessly integrate the very essence of the wind into both her blade and her body. This mastery granted her unbelievable speed, a velocity that defied normal comprehension.
So swift was her movement that, to most observers, she simply vanished, leaving behind only a gust of wind and the ghastly whisper of her blade cutting through the air—hence her moniker, the Whispering Blade.
Her attacks were a blur, a storm of carnage that left a trail of dismembered limbs in its wake. This incredible speed had made her one of the most formidable warriors on the continent.
Now, seeing this very Julie lunge toward his master, Lucious cried out in alarm.
"YOUNG MASTER!~"
He surged forward, adrenaline coursing through his veins, desperate to protect Cassius. But before he could even take a single step, Julie had already reached her target. Her sword was swinging towards Cassius’s neck, her face set with grim determination.
Aisha, even with her heightened feline senses, could barely track Julie’s movement.
She saw the blur of motion, the flash of steel, and then...she was right in front of him, while Cassius himself was still standing there, that unsettling smile still fixed on his face.
’So fast.’ Aisha thought, a flicker of admiration, mixed with dread, crossing her features. ’Even I almost missed her.’
And serin that her captain was going to finish off her target any second now, she let out a sigh of relief. ’It seems my instincts were wrong this time.’ She thought. ’That unsettling feeling...it must have been a false alarm.’
She muttered a quiet, "Sorry" to Cassius under her breath, assuming the execution had gone as planned, albeit with terrifying speed. She knew what was about to happen, and while she didn’t want it to happen, she understood the necessity.
It was a grim duty, but a duty nonetheless.
But then, just as Julie’s blade was about to connect with Cassius’s neck, He...He—
He disappeared...
He was simply gone...
Julie’s sword passed through empty air, her momentum carrying her forward.
’Where...Where did he go?’ Her eyes widened in shock.
Julie barely had time to register what had happened.
One moment, her sword was cutting through the air, the force of her swing powerful enough to cleave through solid stone—and the next, Cassius was gone.
Not dodged.
Not parried.
Simply...gone.
Her entire body stiffened as a chill ran down her spine. The only people who had ever managed to keep up with her speed were her father and the few grandmasters that walked the continent.
Yet this man—this supposed "wastrel"—had just disappeared from her attack without a trace.
And just while she was wondering if she was dreaming because of the absurdity that was happening right now, a voice, smooth and eerily amused, whispered right behind her.
"Impressive. Truly, your speed is terrifying."
Julie’s breath hitched.
She could feel his breath on her neck.
Cassius was standing behind her.
And she hadn’t even sensed him move.
Slowly, too slowly, she turned her head, her emerald eyes widening in shock.
Cassius stood there casually, hands behind his back, watching her with a fascinated expression, as if he were admiring her technique.
"With a sword that fast..." He mused. "...you could probably kill anyone painlessly. A single slash, and it’s over before they even realize it."
His smile widened, his crimson eyes glinting with something wicked.
"Unfortunately..." He continued, his voice soft—far too soft.
"You’re not fast enough."
Julie’s pupils dilated.
Danger!
Before she could react—before she could even breathe—Skadi’s panicked voice rang out.
"CAPTAIN, MOVE!"
But it was too late.
A force like a battering ram slammed into her stomach.
SLAM~
Julie’s vision blurred as a crushing impact tore through her body, the sheer force behind it ripping her feet off the ground.
Her breath vanished from her lungs.
Her mind went blank.
And in the next instant—her body was flying.
She didn’t even have time to think, to process what had happened, before she crashed into a tree.
Smash!~
The bark splintered on impact, the sheer force cracking the wood behind her. Her entire body jerked violently, the whiplash sending shockwaves of pain through her bones.
Blood splattered from her mouth.
For a second, silence.
And then—
"CAPTAIN!"
Skadi’s agonized cry echoed through the clearing.
The knights, who had been watching in stunned horror, froze. They had never seen their captain, their mighty Whispering Blade, sent flying like that.
By a single attack.
Aisha, who had been watching the battle with razor-sharp focus, felt her legs weaken.
Her ears twitched. Even with her heightened feline senses, she had barely seen what had happened.
Barely.
All she had caught was a blur.
Not Cassius moving.
But Cassius lifting his leg.
It had been a simple front kick.
And it had sent Julie—Julie Nikolaevna Hellbane, the Whispering Blade, the woman who could move faster than sound itself— flying like a ragdoll.
Aisha gritted her teeth.
Her worst fears were confirmed.
"This...This isn’t normal." She whispered under her breath as Cassius slowly turned.
His gaze drifted from Julie—who lay slumped against the cracked tree trunk, her breathing ragged—back to Skadi and Aisha.
"One down."
The casual boredom in his tone sent ice through their veins.
He wasn’t mocking them.
He wasn’t being arrogant.
He was simply stating a fact.
Like none of this was even worth his effort.
Skadi’s claws extended instinctively, her beastkin instincts screaming at her.
Her silver eyes darted to Julie—her captain, her mentor, her idol—who was struggling to push herself back up.
Blood dripped from her lips.
Her breathing was shaky.
And yet, Cassius stood there, completely unharmed.
"What...What the hell is this guy…?" Skadi whispered, her voice trembling.
Cassius smiled.
"Now then...shall we continue?"
He didn’t wait for an answer. Before anyone could react, he vanished again. One moment he was there, the next...gone.
The knights panicked, their eyes darting around the courtyard, searching for any sign of him.
’Where is he? What’s happening?’
"Ahhh!~"
Then, a shriek pierced the air. They turned to see one of their comrades clutching her stomach, her face contorted in pain. As she fell to the ground, they saw that her plate armor looked like it had been punched through, the metal crumpled and torn as if it were made of paper.
’What...? How...?’
Before they could even process what had happened, another shriek echoed through the courtyard.
"Kyaaa!~"
Another knight fell, her eyes wide with disbelief, as if she didn’t even know what had hit her. She crumpled to the ground, lifeless.
Bang!~
And then, to their horror, they saw another comrade fly through the air, as if someone had picked her up and thrown her like a rag doll. She crashed into two other knights, sending them sprawling. The impact was sickening, the sound of bone breaking chilling.
Chaos erupted. The knights, their formations shattered, their discipline forgotten, scrambled to defend themselves, but it was like fighting an invisible enemy. Their eyes darted everywhere, trying to anticipate the next attack, but it was futile.
They couldn’t see him. All they saw was the occasional gust of wind, a fleeting glimpse of motion, and then...another shriek, another fallen comrade.
Shouts and cries filled the air.
The courtyard, which had moments before been a scene of tense anticipation, was now a scene of utter pandemonium. In less than fifteen seconds, their numbers had been decimated. Less than half of the original knights remained standing, their faces etched with terror.
They were being picked off one by one, and they couldn’t even see who was attacking them. The invisible enemy was everywhere, and nowhere. It was a nightmare made real. They were being hunted, not by a man, but by something...else.
For the first time in her life, Aisha felt utterly lost.
She was a strategist, a tactician. She commanded troops, orchestrated battles, planned defenses. But to do that, she needed to see the enemy. She needed to understand their movements, their patterns, their weaknesses.
But this...this was beyond anything she had ever encountered. Cassius was a phantom, a blur of motion, striking from nowhere, disappearing just as quickly. She couldn’t give orders because she couldn’t see what was happening.
How could she tell her knights to defend against an attack they couldn’t even perceive?
Skadi, driven by her beastkin instincts, was also trying her best to keep track of Cassius. Like a hound dog tracking its prey, she would whirl around, her ears twitching, her nose sniffing the air, trying to pinpoint his location.
But it was a futile effort.
By the time she realized where he had been, he was already gone, striking somewhere else, leaving her frustrated and bewildered.
"DAMN IT—!!" She snarled. "STAND STILL AND FIGHT ME, YOU COWARD!"
She growled in frustration, her tail lashing back and forth. She felt useless, unable to protect her comrades, unable to avenge them.
Aisha knew she had to do something, and fast. If this continued, they would all be dead. She couldn’t let that happen. She was responsible for these knights, for their lives. She had to take control, even if she didn’t know how.
Taking a deep breath, she braced herself, steeling her nerves. "Everyone!" She shouted, her voice cutting through the chaos. "Gather around me! Don’t spread out! Stay together!"
It was a simple command, a basic tactic, but it was the only thing she could think of. Safety in numbers. It was better than being picked off one by one.
The others didn’t hesitate.
They rushed toward her, forming a tight formation.
Even Skadi, who hated retreating, followed the order, her tail bristling in agitation.
Aisha gritted her teeth.
If speed was Cassius’s weapon, then distance manipulation would be hers. A cluster formation meant fewer blind spots.
It meant they could react together. It meant they wouldn’t be slaughtered one by one.
And to her shock, for the first time since the fight started—
Cassius stopped moving.
He stood still, arms folded, watching them.
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Why…?
Why wasn’t he attacking?
Why was he giving them time?
And then—realization dawned on her.
He’s amused.
Cassius wasn’t taking them seriously. He was letting them strategize.
He wants to see what I’ll do next…
That realization made her furious. She had never—never—felt so small in a battle. Clutching her staff tighter, she muttered an incantation under her breath.
This was her chance.
He was standing still.
Now—she had to strike.
Aisha, seizing the opportunity, began to chant under her breath. The words were low, almost inaudible, but they resonated with power, with the ancient energy of the earth. She wove the spell quickly, her fingers moving in intricate patterns, her eyes fixed on Cassius.
Cassius, still observing the knights with an air of detached amusement, suddenly felt something...strange.
The ground beneath his feet...it felt...soft.
He glanced down, and to his surprise, he saw that his legs were sinking into the soil. He tried to move, to jump, but it was too late. The earth was swallowing him whole, pulling him down, down, down.
In seconds, he was waist-deep in the ground, his legs completely immobilized. And then, just as quickly as it had softened, the earth hardened, solidifying around him like concrete.
Before he could even register what had happened, before he could marvel at the first instance of magic he had witnessed in this world, another surprise awaited him.
Giant earthen hands erupted from the ground, grasping his torso, his arms, even his neck, holding him in place. Only his head remained exposed, his face a mask of shock and disbelief.
Aisha, seeing that her spell had worked perfectly, couldn’t help but grin.
"Now!" She shouted, her voice filled with triumph. "Attack! Finish him off while he’s trapped!"
Her words were like a spark igniting a powder keg. The knights, their morale rekindled, their fear replaced with a surge of adrenaline, charged towards Cassius.
Skadi, her silver eyes glowing with predatory intensity, led the charge, her beastkin speed unmatched. They all ran with a single-minded purpose, their weapons raised, their eyes fixed on Cassius’s exposed head.
Skadi, being the fastest, reached Cassius first.
With a snarl of fury, she leaped into the air, her sharp claws extended, aiming for his face. She would tear him apart, shred him to pieces, avenge her fallen comrades, even though she knew this was simply a batte of survival on both sides and hated that was thrust into it.
This...monster they were forced to face that had slaughtered her friends, crippled her captain, would pay...